Audio Stopped Working In Earlier Versions

[Ronbo]

I'm on a mac (Catalina) and ever since I installed Moho 13.5, I can't get audio to work in ASP 11.2, or Moho 12.5 or 13.0.2. I've tried .wav, .aif, and .mp3, all of which worked previously but not now. Audio files do import and are visible on the timeline, but there is no sound. The Audio Recording window in these earlier versions also no longer functions, whether I use the built-in mic or an external mic. All audio functions are normal in Moho 13.5.2, but now my previous versions are rather useless. I would at least like to be able to use Moho 13 for its bitmap tools.

Interestingly, ASP 11.2 and Moho 12.5.1 both have normal audio capability on my older mac running High Sierra. I can't install Moho 13 or 13.5 on that computer, which is why I'm wondering if Moho 13.5 installation broke the audio in previous versions on my main computer.

Any ideas as to why the audio is broken? I would especially like to hear if any other mac users have experienced this issue.

[Greenlaw]

Sorry for my previous response; I deleted it after I realized I had missed the part in your post about currently using Moho 13.5.2, which has the new audio support.

Hmm...otherwise, I'm not sure what could be wrong. Is Moho the only program on your computer with audio issues? AFAIK, installing the latest version shouldn't have affected previous versions.

Audio is working fine for me in Moho 12.5 and 13.5.2 here but I'm not on Mac. Hopefully somebody with a Mac will pop in to answer questions soon.

[Ronbo]

Thank you for your reply, Greenlaw. Yes, ASP and Moho versions prior to 13.5 are the only programs on my computer that have no audio. (I have lots of audio and video and animation software.) And I am very sure that audio worked normally in the earlier Moho versions because I was using those on this same computer for years. This issue seemed to appear only after I updated to Moho 13.5.2. (I don't remember having this issue after installing 13.5.1.)

And as you pointed out, Moho 13.5.2 has "new audio support" so I can't help but wonder if that may have somehow messed up audio in my earlier versions. I also noticed this in Victor's list of new changes in 13.5.2: "Fixed audio recording on Mac." I don't know what that means, exactly, but it makes me wonder.

Just to reiterate, I do have normal audio capability in ASP and Moho 12.5.1 as usual on my other iMac (High Sierra.)

[Ronbo]

Just to follow up, I remembered that I had a bootable external drive running Catalina so I started it up, tried ASP 11.2, Moho 12.5 & 13.02 and the audio worked normally! Then I discovered that even though Catalina was the same version as my internal drive, I had not installed the recent security update.

So it seems to follow that the security update that I installed on my internal drive has killed the audio functionality in the earlier Moho/ASP versions. There is no longer any way for me to access the built-in mic or play imported audio files in those versions. Oh well.

At least I know now that if I want to play with the bitmap tools in 13.02, for example, I can reboot to my external drive. It's just not as convenient.

[Greenlaw]

Could it be a driver issue? I run on Windows 10 here but occasionally a Windows software or security update will stupidly replace a driver with an ancient version or somehow break a currently installed driver. The fix is to download and install whatever the current official driver is.

I've had this happen at one time or another with different devices, like audio, mice, keyboard, tablet, screen calibrators, etc. Downloading and re-installing the drivers always fixed this. Fortunately, it happens rarely but it's pretty annoying (even stressful) when it does happen.

Sometimes I've had devices stop working when Windows has downloaded an update in the background and it's just sitting there waiting to be installed. That one really gets me because I'm not aware of the update unless I think to check for it when I run into a hardware issue.

Anyway, I know this info isn't Mac-specific but maybe it can offer some clues to what's happening in your computer.

[FloridaJo]

Just to follow up, I remembered that I had a bootable external drive running Catalina so I started it up, tried ASP 11.2, Moho 12.5 & 13.02 and the audio worked normally! Then I discovered that even though Catalina was the same version as my internal drive, I had not installed the recent security update.

So it seems to follow that the security update that I installed on my internal drive has killed the audio functionality in the earlier Moho/ASP versions. There is no longer any way for me to access the built-in mic or play imported audio files in those versions. Oh well.

At least I know now that if I want to play with the bitmap tools in 13.02, for example, I can reboot to my external drive. It's just not as convenient.

I can record audio in moho 12 on a High Sierra,
and with Moho 13.5.2 on the new M1 Mac in Monterey operating system, but
I had to first give permission in the Security & Privacy section to allow Moho permissions under Screen Recording and Microphone.

It should ask you if you want to do that on your first recording. Not sure if that will also help your playback. Maybe repair permissions on the hard disk.

[Ronbo]

Greenlaw, the only driver I've ever installed is for my Wacom tablet, which still works fine. All other external hardware is class-compliant, which does not require drivers. On macs, Core Audio is built into the system software and is updated via system updates.

I've discussed this with support and we agree that the latest security update made it impossible now for previous versions of ASP/Moho to play audio or access the mic (internal or external.) Those earlier versions have no way of complying with the increased security of Catalina after the update. I didn't even get the pop-up window asking for access to the mic when I first launched after re-installing. I should add that Motion Artist also no longer has audio capability.

And as mentioned previously, I have lots of audio, video, and animation software installed that all still function normally. So this recent security update seems to have only affected Motion Artist and ASP/Moho prior to version 13.5.

[Ronbo]

FloridaJo, thank you for responding.

Yes, as I mentioned in my original post, I still have normal audio in ASP & Moho 12.5 on my older mac running High Sierra. And all versions up to Moho 13.5.2 still have normal audio capability in Catalina on my external drive, but that's because I did not install the recent security update on that drive.

I tried re-installing earlier versions on my main computer and never got the pop-up window requesting access to the mic. The new security simply denies them any audio capability and doesn't allow me any way to enable it via system preferences. I've already enabled everything I could, but mic access is not available. It would show up only if a specific application requests it, and the earlier versions no longer request it.

[Greenlaw]

Ugh, that's really frustrating. I hope a solution or workaround turns up before too long.

[synthsin75]

If Catalina doesn't have a way to make exceptions to its security measures, to ensure older software can work, that's on Mac. They're forcing you to update your software.

[Ronbo]

Greenlaw & Wes, yes it's very frustrating to be treated like an idiot who can't be trusted to take care of my own security. There should indeed be a way that a user can bypass the newly enhanced security features as desired for specific trusted applications.

But fortunately, I can still run the older ASP/Moho programs and Motion Artist on my older computer or my external drive...it's just not as convenient. I just hope that any other mac users who are still running these programs on Catalina see this thread before they install the recent security update.